How
I Can Make Greater Use of Differentiated InstructionThe incoming computer class filled out a survey at the end
of the school year (Appendix A) so
that I could gauge the range of knowledge, skills and interests
prior to class in September. At the beginning of the school year,
I will offer students who claim prior knowledge of the skills
being learned a pre-test to determine whether I can allow them
to compact the unit (a term that I learned through my research),
or bypass it completely.

Based on my prior knowledge of the computer class and the results
of the survey, I now have an indication of the range of skills
and interests of the in-coming students. This will give me a starting
point for creating differentiation. For example, the results of
the student survey revealed that most of the students enjoy surfing
on the internet, listening to music and would like to be able
to build a web-site. I could incorporate these features into my
lesson plans.

There are many lesson plans and strategies on differentiated instruction
available in books and on web-sites. Different resources base
their strategies on accommodating students with different learning
styles (kinesthetic, auditory, visual) or by taking into account
what is known about the adolescent brain and their interests.
One system of differentiated instruction that has gained a following
is the Layered Curriculum, which structures a differentiated curriculum
into three levels. The first level is achieved when students gain
basic knowledge of their subject; the second level is where that
knowledge is applied and the third level where students are encouraged
to think critically about the new information. Each level can
be differentiated with a variety of activities that can appeal
to a student's learning style, ability and interest

There are so many ways in which differentiation can be approached
that it can be a daunting task to begin the process. Taking into
consideration the variety of ways that instruction can be differentiated,
it would be useful to consider different approaches. I have prepared
a chart that can help structure the differentiated activities
(Appendix C). Each unit is broken
down into expectations, and then consideration would be given
to how the content, process and product could be differentiated.
Each of these groups, could be further divided by different learning
styles.

Grading and differentiated InstructionAnother consideration that needs to be looked at when discussing
differentiated instruction is how to grade students when students
are all engaged in different activities. One key point is that
"grading is not a synonym for assessment (Tomlinson, 2005). Formative
assessment should be ongoing during activities as a way to provide
feedback to students. At the end of a period of instruction, grades
are given with certain considerations in mind: they should be
aligned to the expectations and outcomes for the curriculum and
they should measure the students' acquisition and application
of knowledge. Teachers should minimize factors that might affect
the score, such as a student's poor handwriting complicating his
ability to provide written work. The whole rationale for differentiation
is for teachers to provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate
their knowledge; if a student is able to pick an activity that
can provide a way for him to demonstrate his ability, his grade
should reflect his accomplishment.

When a Student has Prior Computer Knowledge
One of the unique challenges of the high-school computer curriculum
is that computer instruction is skill based. Many students are
now receiving computer instruction at the primary or middle-school
levels, and many students have access to computers at home and
learn skills on their own. More and more students are coming in
to class with prior knowledge. To be prepared for this, I need
to be able to offer not only differentiation, but a curriculum
that offers enrichment and even alternative activities that offer
modification to the existing basic expectations. I could use a
chart that lists the skills that are required and a suggested
enrichment or alternative activity if the student already knows
the basic material. (Appendix D).
An example of an entry would be:

Skill

Enrichment

Alternative
Acitivity

Word & paragraph formatting in Word

Helping another student learn this skill

Using this skill and others as part of an independent
project

Learning to program the computer

Problems Encountered during InquiryThere is a large body of research on Differentiated Instruction,
however I was not able to locate research, lesson plans or strategies
specific to a high-school computer classroom. An interesting roadblock
that I encountered while trying to research my inquiry question
is that there is much emphasis on USING computer technology in
a differentiated classroom, not on actually using differentiated
instruction to teach computer class content.

Another difficulty I encountered was in the varied terminology
of "differentiated instruction" and its relationship to other
subjects such as learning styles, multiple intelligence and the
specific needs of LD and gifted students. It is difficult to stay
focused on the inquiry, when there are so many interesting related
areas.